Reply to APS Advanced Academics Parent Referral

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Reply to "APS Advanced Academics Parent Referral"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The system is much better now. Back when it was pullout the GT teachers gatekeeped to keep their caseloads small, and they left out a lot of kids who should have been identified.

My kid was overlooked. When I parent referred, they tested so high even the principal was wondering how they were missed. [/quote]
It’s not better now, just bad in a different way. The reality is we need 3 options for students especially in middle school and up-remedial, regular, intensified/honors. No one wants their kid in the struggling section so that should be placement based on test scores, work samples and teacher feedback. Honors should be similar. [/quote]

That is literally what we have now in middle school. [/quote]
1. Not all subjects have a remedial option
2. Anyone can enroll in intensified, no scores needed [/quote]

The core subjects have remedial options. Plus there are additional supports built-in to support struggling kids in grade-level classes.

Kids self select into intensified. And the enrollment is fluid - I know kids who have moved up and down during the school year.

How old are your kids? Which school(s)? Seems like you have young kids. 
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7th grader. I see the (sometimes frustrated)canvas messages his teachers send reminding students about test corrections and turning in assignments. Those kids are slowing things down. The teachers have to re-teach basic concepts in class. The problem is that  anyone can sign up for them, even if the don’t have the scores or work ethic to support the placement. [/quote]

Parents have always been able to parent place. That is nothing new.

When they added the intensified option it added an extra bucket for the bright, but less motivated kids to fall into. You end up with [i]fewer[/i] slackers in intensified Algebra 1/Geometry than before the change. 
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Ok, but there are still parents inappropriately placing kids and there’s no more pull outs so it’s actually worse than before[/quote]

There were never pullouts in middle school. That’s just not a thing. It’s gross that you think your kid is so special that you want to block other kids from the same opportunities. Did you know anyone can take AP classes too? You need to adjust your attitude or you have a long road ahead of you. [/quote]
It’s not fair for the teachers, the students who can’t keep up or those who can. It’s a broken system[/quote]

Anyone can take the class, but the rigor shouldn’t change. Let ‘em drown.[/quote]

That's where I'm at as well. I don't think APS would let it happen though. [/quote]
A kid who is drowning is probably struggling with MS generally.  The intensified classes just aren't that much harder.  If you do the work, you'll be fine.  Maybe not an A, but not drowning.[/quote]

I am thinking more of math placements myself.  I think math placement should be determined by the office of academics, but so many parents want to say that their kid is in algebra when they’re in seventh grade or whatever… And that has been a disaster.  I feel so sorry for those kids.[/quote]
You must not have a kid in middle school.  They use both math SOL scores and MAP scores to recommend MS math placement. There's no reason to have kids take another placement test.  Those are the placement tests.

If you want to parent place, you have to speak to someone senior in the APS math department to get their agreement (or then send a letter explicitly going against their recommendation).

You can argue with whether APS is using the right cutoffs or shouldn't allow parent placement, but math is the only subject where placement is not at the kid's discretion.  And my 6th grader's pre algebra teacher has said that he'll move kids down if they're not keeping up--it absolutely happens.  I'm not sure this is a real issue.[/quote]

I didn’t say anything about placement tests. You’re right – the office of academics uses those two data points to determine math placements.  I personally think if kids do not qualify based on these data points, then they should not be in the class.  Sorry.  [/quote]
I parent placed.  My kid had an excellent MAP score, but an SOL that was just below the cut off.  But I also knew she was out sick the week of the SOL and took it as a makeup when she was still sick.  I spoke with her 5th grade teacher and she recommended her for pre algebra so I had her placed.  She just finished Q2 with a 98% average.  It's her favorite class.  No regrets.[/quote]

I don't think they should go strictly by the cutoffs. My kid had a strangely low score on the MAP test. But his school recommended him for 6-7-8 anyways. I guess the teachers could tell the test score was not reflective of his capabilities. Clearly it was the right call. He's pulling an A right now in Calc BC and got a 5 on AP pre-calc exam last year. Oh and a perfect score on math SAT. [/quote]
So he was placed years and years ago before they even implemented the MAP test?  Your post is clearly incorrect.

This past year it seems that APS just used cutoffs and didn't get teacher input.  I understand they did get teacher input in prior years, but they seem to have moved to a straight score cutoff model + parent placement.  [/quote]

Yes you're right, I guess it it wasn't the MAP test, it was whatever test they used before then when he was in 5th grade. I lose track of the names of the tests - they change so often. [/quote]

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